About Eezo
by JasminSilver
Summary: Commander Steven Hackett is sent to investigate the new discovery made by Conatix Industries. Set during the First Contact War.
1. Chapter 1

Amongst the piles of debris, the sound of dying flames, the footsteps of soldiers and volunteers patrolling the streets to salvage whatever was left after the fight against the Reapers, he heard music. It seemed almost inappropriate, such a beautiful melody amongst so much suffering and destruction, yet it brought peace to his restless mind.

" Impromptu no2 in a-flat, by Schubert ", he thought.

It had been a very long time since he heard that music. Deciding to use the little free time he had as Admiral to find the source of this soothing melody, Hackett walked through what used to be the beautiful streets of London.

It had been three weeks since the fall of the Reapers and little tents, scattered through the ruins, brought a sigh of hope to his lips: They were still standing, still alive. It would take time, but they would rebuild their home planet. The galaxy would be strong once more, stronger even, as the races were now united, thanks to the Herculean work of Commander John Shepard.

The music was now light and soft, carried with the ashes in the wind. The last time he'd heard it was when he was sent to evaluate Connatix Industries' secret war asset during the First Cntact war. He had been a young Commander at the time, and much like now, he had been drawn to the source of this music. He had been a little surprised at first: classic piano was not a very popular instrument in the depth of a top secret research facility. At first, he had half expected to find an old guard, listening to his Omnitool, but nothing had prepared him for what he saw.

* * *

It was a young woman, undeniably human, but she was emitting a pulsing blue glow. When the music went in crescendo, the light was brighter, tendrils of light crackling around her, rippling on her skin. Her long fingers caressed the digital keyboard effortlessly until she reached the last notes, making them last and reverberate in the room.

He must have made a noise, because she turned to face him, the blue light flaring once more before lowering to slight ripples on the surface of her skin. Her hair had recently be shaved and he could see a nasty looking scar on the left side of her scalp. It was still pink, but was completely healed. She was in her early twenties and looked incredibly tired.

- Who are you, she asked.

Her voice was hoarse and very low.

- Commander Steven Hackett Ma'am, he replied with a perfect salute.

She smirked and chuckled lightly. Seeing that she was not saluting back or presenting her-self, he adopted a more relaxed position and asked for her name.

- Subject Four, she answerd, holding her forearm to reveal an iridescent bare code on the underside of her wrist.

From where he stood, he could also see a little black disc, no larger than an old cent, in the crease of her elbow and on the thumb side of her wrist.

A bit taken aback by her answer he cleared his throat. Fortunately for him, she filled the silence.

- You must be the one they sent to evaluate me. Funny they didn't send guards with you.

Keeping a calm appearence despite his growing discomfort, Hackett asked:

- Should I be worried about that?

- Of course you should! She nearly screamed despite her broken voice. I'm not stable yet.

- What do you mean " not stable yet"?

Before she could answer, a man in a lab coat entered the room holding a little metal tray with a syringe, a vial, pills and alcohol swabs.

- Good day Commander Hackett, I'll be with you shortly.

Without even waiting for a reply, he proceeded to "Subject Four". She apparently knew the drill pretty well, for she extended her left arm and took the pills from the tray, swallowing them dry while the man injected the solution in her arm through the little disk. A few seconds after the injection was done, she sighed and the blue ripples disappeared. She stood up, slightly woobly, and exited the room, casting one last glance at the Commander.

- Very good, let's get down to business. Shall we? Said the doctor, motioning for the commander to follow him.

The doctor led them in a study. The wall opposite the door, was covered by a huge holo screen displaying the wonderful view of a sunny day in a grass field. In front of it were two very sleek looking white leather chairs and between them a low glass table on which lay a single data pad. Motioning for Commander Hackett to sit, the doctor poured them each a generous amout of Scotch and sat in his chair. After taking a slow sip of the amber liquid he finally spoke.

- Tell me Commander, what do you know about Element Zero?

Having read his Beijing file from cover to cover three times, Hackett was well prepared.

- It is the newest element discovered. It was encountered for the first time on Prothean digg sites on mars, sir. Its atomically number is zero and its uses are mainly aeronautical and though there as been report of babies displaying nodes of eezo at birth, there is no way to know what might one day come out of this. Sir.

The doctor chuckled lightly before taking another sip of his drink.

- Well, you studied your files well Commander, but what you've learn is now obsolete. You have seen, not ten minutes ago, the "what might come out of this". You've seen the first human Biotic.

There was a long silence during which Commander Hackett tried to make his brain grasp what had just been said.

- Do you mean to say that you have been able to master the eezo sir?

- That is exactly what I mean to say Commander, said the doctor, a cocky smile blossoming on his pale lips.

- And could it be used against the Turians? Asked the eager Commander.

Such a discovery could turn the odds of that blasted war, grant an advantage against the aliens! The General would be very pleased to hear about it!

- You will be able to evaluate this yourself in the following days Commander. For now, I'll leave you those files to read, he said, tapping lightly on the data pad. Enjoy your stay.

The doctor was nearly out of the room when he turned to face Hackett.

- I have not introduced myself, I apologize. I'm Doctor Christoff.

* * *

Let me know what you think please :)

I love comments!


	2. Chapter 2

She had been inside the facility for nearly three years. She new every faces, every guards, every nurse, so when she saw him, she knew he was from outside. It was not the first time the alliance sent someone to check on her progress. This commander was not like the others. He had seemed kinder than the others who came to investigate. Maybe that was her chance after all.

* * *

When Commander Hackett arrived in the room he was to occupy for the duration of his stay at Cornatix, he barely took the time to unpack his bag before opening the data pad. He felt like a little kid, unwrapping his Christmas presents! He began his reading.

The document contained hundreds of photos depicting different stages of the extensive procedure that had been required to obtain such a weapon. After a few hours of reading and discovering this "Subject Four" he was feeling nauseous. He had been right, she was twenty-one years old, yet she had lived through more surgeries and experimental procedure than anyone should be allowed to during the past two years. The scar he had seen on her head had been made three weeks after her voluntary adhesion to the program. He kept thinking about that part though... Who would volunteer to undergo such treatments! Despite having see the signed form, he couldn't help feeling guilty for all she had been through even though he had nothing to do with it. Hell, that scar on her head had been reopened three times! According to the photos, her entire spine had been split open to insert microscopical eezo nodes inside her neural system. Quite a few major motor nerves had been altered in the same way so that eezo nodes ran from her cerebral cortex to the tip of her fingers and toes. According to the records, this allowed the subject to create mass effect fields through thoughts. The electrical current formed in her neurons would, with the help of an amplifier in her neck, activate the eezo and trigger a chain reaction that would cause, among other things, a very powerful energy blast that could blow up an entire room. Despite being horrified by the extent of the transformations she had been put through, he couldn't wait to see her in action in the morrow. He knew so many good man who had died against the Turians he would welcome any help subject four could give. He slept fitfully until morning, her tired face, the surgeries and scars haunting his dreams.

* * *

In the morning he was brought to a small room resembling a bunker. Inside it was a large one sided window through which he could see a hangar. It contained various boxes, crates and even targets plastered on the right hand wall. Doctor Christoff joined him and very shortly after Subject four was brought in the room. She was being half dragged, half pulled by an angry looking guard. Leading her to the center of the room, he quickly retreated outside the hangar. Hackett could hear the door sealing shut from where he stood.

- Are you ready for a demonstration Commander, said the doctor.

Glancing at the woman in the room, Hackett felt his entrails twist in a most unpleasant way. She looked positively terrified, yet there was a certain degree of resignation in her posture: her shoulders slouched and her head bowed. Despite the power he knew she possessed, she looked terribly frail in the skimpy orange bag-dress she wore. She was not even wearing shoes!

Fearing his voice would betray his anguish, he simply nodded.

- Four, we will begin with the shock wave. You know the drill, impress the Commander! Said the doctor through the intercom.

After hearing the doctor's voice, the woman lifted her head and looked at the window behind which Commander Hackett was standing. Though he knew she could not see him, her gaze still froze his soul: something was not right here but he could not quite put his finger on it.

The spell was broken when her body became alight with a blue corona. She than made a circular move with her right arm and a huge ball of blue light hit the ground of the hangar, nearly cracking the concrete, before continuing in a strait line exploding every three meters or so with a loud "bang". Its trajectory ended with the explosion of the crate it was aimed at. Hackett's mouth was agape in surprise of such display of force. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have belived it!

- That was acceptable. Now show us your singularity, said the doctor once more through the intercom.

It continued like this for nearly an hour until the doctor ordered her to hold a shimmering barrier against projectiles. It was a marvelous sight: a huge blue dome materialized around the standing woman, dark energy crackling on its surface. At first, a few concussive shots were fired from somewhere above the room they were standing in directly at the blue half sphere. Then a flame thrower was used against the barrier which held on. Hackett sensed something was not quite right when the barrier began flickering. Concussive shots were fired again, but at a very fast pace. Quite a few penetrated the shield and fell dully un the ground before touching the woman. She was kneeling now. Her arms that were once extended in from of her were clutched around her head and her prone form was visibly shaking.

- Doctor? Said Hackett. Is this normal?

- Yes, I'm affraid it is... Sighed the man in white lab coat. She is still lacking the optimal stamina, but we're working on it.

- I mean, sir, she seems to be in pain! Can nothing be done?

- No, unfortunately we can't. But we can heighten her tolerance to it should you deem it necessary.

The shots stopped coming and the barrier finally died. The woman crumpled on the hard concrete floor. She was immobile for a moment before the spasms began. She was fully convulsing on the floor now, her body shimmering blue at odd intervals and an angry red light pulsing at the nape of her neck.

- Like I said, weak sighed the doctor before excusing himself.

* * *

Commander Hackett remained motionless behind the glass long after the woman had been sedated and evacuated by guards. This was wrong, he though. She had not looked like an eager volunteer as she entered the room, as she created blue orbs upon blue orbs of dark energy, as she convulsed on the floor. He needed to write a report on today's show, yet he could not will himself to move.

When he finally reached his room, he made a dash to the bathroom and emptied his stomach in the toilet until he was dry heaving painfully. He had seen his fair share of suffering, but nothing quite topped that frail convulsing body.

* * *

_Please, let me know what you think about it!_

_i'll upload pictures of subject four on my deviantart!_

_jasminsilver. deviantart .com :)_


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